Tools for Community Radio to Report on the Presidential Race

You don’t need a shimmy to know interest in the presidential race and debates is high. Here’s help for community radio on covering the election.

Community radio stations are hearing from listeners who want coverage of the presidential election, featuring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There are a variety of resources to help producers, reporters and hosts give clear, helpful information about the November election.

Some sources for up-to-the-minute presidential election polling include RealClearPolitics and 538. Ballotpedia helps community radio articulate what the candidates’ positions are on issues. The New York Times, meanwhile, is helping stations follow the timeline of events since the race to the White House began.

It is important that community radio stations remember they’re bound by political broadcasting rules related to the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service. NFCB recently hosted a webinar on political broadcasting, featuring attorneys John Crigler and Brad Deutsch. It is available to member stations in our Members Area.

If you’re a member station and need help accessing the webinar, contact NFCB at membership@nfcb.org.